Carriage-top.



No. 839,7 8.- PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

- W. H. JAY.

' CARRIAGE TOP.

APELIUATION FILED MAB..9,1906.

seat.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. JAY, OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-FIFTHS TO LEE ONEIL BROWNE AND HERBERT O. WILEY, OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS.

CARRIAGE-TOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

T0 to whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. JAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa, in the county of Lasalle and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriage-Tops, of which the following is a s ecification.

My invention re ates to carriage-tops, and has for its object the production of a collapsible vehicle-seat cover upheld by a folding frame having component parts of special and particular construction and arrangement beieved to enable the occupant of the seat to raise or lower the top with the minimum of labor and without passing'the hands between this bows or outside of the curtains at the si e. 1

I accomplish the objects set forth by fashioning and associating the parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 represents a sectional view of the frame and top raised. Fig. 2 is a sectional view with the frame and top inclined to the rear. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the top collapsed and the frame folded. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary back view of the seat and shows in partly sectional form the liftingspring applied to the shorter member of the main brace. Fi 5 represents a fragmentary side view sIlowing the position of the lifting-s ring when the top is raised.

Like etters are used to designate the same parts in all the views.

The letter A designates the body of the bug y, of which B marks the seat, and C and C t e side rails upon the side boards of the The rail nearest the observer is broken ajgay to disclose its fellow on the farther si e.

The back of the seat is referred to by letter D.

The usual bows of the frame are lettered E, F, and G.

The horizontal bow-braces, which maintain the bows in their proper separated attitudes when the top is raised, are designated H, and they possess the customary downwardly-foldin joints h h and an intermediate jolnt h, w 'ch is pivotally secured to the bow F.

The main brace, which has its upper end pivotally connected with the above-mentioned joint h, is composed of the long member J and the short member j, coupled by the knee-joint j, which, it will be observed, breaks forwardly, and not rearwardly, as is the case in every similar construction of which I have knowledge.

The cover of the top is referred to by the letter K, and the rear curtain by the letter L. In some instancesand particularly with a heavy top having four or more bows, for eX- ample itis desirable to rovide assistance to the occupant in raising t e whole. To render this assistance, I introduce the bracket M, secured to the back D of the seat and having the stem m. The shorter member j of the main brace is shown in Fig. 4 with the stem m passing through its lower end 3' Attac ed to the stem is the liftin -spring N, and its outermost extremity has a ook n, engaging the shorter member 3' of the mainbrace. The spring is usually protected by the encircling bell n. (Shown in the drawings in Figs. 4 and 5.)

The operation of my invention is the following: From Figs. 1, 2, and 3 it will be discerned that the main brace and all joints are inside the cover and bows-that is to say, any person desiring to bring the top from the position of Fig. 1 into that delineated in Fig. 2 may directlygrasp the main brace without passing the hands between the bows or outside the curtain. In Figs. 2 and 3 the reason for constructin the upper member J of the main brace the onger will be noted. It is to permit the folding of the frame. The lengths of the two members J and of the main brace are in such proportion one to the other as to allow for the folding of the frame. It is also believed to be evident that the construction wherein the main brace breaks forwardly is more easily operated than one in which such brace breaks rearwardly, for the reason that the back of the rider is against the backB of the seat, thus affording a base for a strong push in a forward direction, whereas no basis is present for a push to the rear.

When my invention is applied to heavy tops, as stated, the spring N, as shown in Fig. 5, is normally in an upright position, and

when the frame is folded the member 9' of the main brace falls forwardly and bends the spring downwardly. The weight of the top may thus be taken up, and when it is desired to again raise the top the spring exerts its force to accomplish that pur ose. A further oflice of the spring N when t e cover is in its raised position is to uphold the member of the main brace when subjected to jars or jolts which might otherwise cause joint y" to break forwardly. The joint may give a little in consequence of such jolts; but the spring acts to quickly replace it.

Having thus described my invention and explained the nature of its operation, what I claim is v In a carriage-top, the combination with the bows, of the bow-braces H pivotally connected with all of the bows and arranged upon the inside of the bows, the said bowbraces having joints occupying intermediate positions with respect to the said bows when the carriage-top has been raised, and the forwardly-inclined main braces having their upper ends pivotally connected with the said WILLIAM H. JAY.

Witnesses:

L. SUEHR, LEE 0. BROWNE. 

